Season Stepp: Get health benefits from fresh yogurt

Wednesday

Feb 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

As an American cook, I often take for granted the ease of having yogurt in the fridge, always there, patiently waiting for its time to shine. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have access to yogurt, but for thousands of years, people have used, embraced and even survived off homemade yogurt.

By Season SteppFor the Herald-Journal

As an American cook, I often take for granted the ease of having yogurt in the fridge, always there, patiently waiting for its time to shine. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have access to yogurt, but for thousands of years, people have used, embraced and even survived off homemade yogurt.Yogurt is more than just a healthy snack. It can be used in place of mayonnaise in salad dressings and chicken salad, to make sauces to finish fish, steak or chicken, or used as the wet ingredient in many baked goods. Thicker yogurts may be spread on sandwiches, while in the cultures of India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, yogurt is made into drinks, some salty, some sweet, some fruity and some made with fresh herbs.We have heard in recent years that yogurt is great in maintaining a healthy digestive tract. Some yogurts claim to be healthier than others. There is some debate about this, but rest assured that yogurt has a long history of living up to these claims.Good bacteria coat the digestive tract and prevent bad bacteria from taking hold. Numerous studies on the health benefits of eating yogurt have been done over the years, one of which suggests that eating yogurt can cut sick time by as much as two-thirds. Yogurt may also promote weight loss and reduce the risk of diabetes. It is, of course, a good source of calcium, boosting one's ability to build bone and aiding in the prevention of osteoporosis. Adding yogurt to one's diet may also protect against ulcers, aid arthritis and prevent some cancers.Good news for those who are lactose intolerant: Eating yogurt is OK because the microbes break down the lactose that causes trouble.When making your own yogurt, very few items are needed. These items include a pot, a thermometer, milk, yogurt or yogurt cultures, and a few jars for storage: clean canning jars or empty jam jars or spaghetti sauce jars will do just fine. Oh, and time, mostly spent waiting.The milk should be brought up to 160 degrees to “denature” it. This process of scalding the milk enables the live cultures in the yogurt to do their thing.Overall, making your own yogurt is fairly simple and can be a fun activity. Your resulting yogurt will taste better than store-bought yogurt and will be much better for you. Sweeten it yourself with fruit or honey, stir in your favorite cereal, or use your new yogurt in cooking and baking.

4 cups whole or 2 percent milk2 tablespoons plain yogurt*

Place milk in a saucepan over medium. Heat the milk, stirring fairly often, to 160 degrees. Remove from heat.Allow the milk to cool to between 100-110 degrees. Either leave it on the counter to cool, or cool more quickly by placing the pot in a sink filled with a few inches of ice water. Make sure the milk does not cool completely. It should feel fairly warm to the touch but not hot.When the milk is between 100-110 degrees, stir in yogurt. Pour into clean jars, cover and leave them in a warm area overnight or up to 24 hours. Warm areas may include on top of the dryer on laundry day, in a sunny windowsill, on the porch on a summer day, or in a cooler next to a pan of formerly boiling water. A warm area of about 100 degrees is best, but don't fret over precise temperature.After 24 hours, refrigerate your fresh yogurt for 1-2 weeks.*Store-bought yogurt is fine, as long as it has live cultures.